Barcelona crisis deepens as Pedri set for spell on the sidelines with hamstring injury | OneFootball

Barcelona have received a massive blow as key midfielder Pedri has sustained a hamstring injury and is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

The Spanish midfielder picked up the injury after the 2-1 El Clasico defeat on Sunday, during which he was shown a red card in the final stages.

Diario AS predicts that Pedri could be out for up to three weeks and will not return until after the November international break.

He will miss the upcoming games against Elche, Club Brugge and Celta Vigo.

Barcelona will hope that Pedri can recover in time for the tough fixtures against Athletic Bilbao and Chelsea towards the end of next month.

The 22-year-old’s injury is primarily due to exhaustion. He has started in all 13 games this season and clocked up more than 1,000 minutes, the most by any Barca player.

The injury crisis at Barca continues to surge, with key players such as Raphinha, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gavi, Andreas Christensen, Dani Olmo and Joan Garcia still sidelined.

Lamine Yamal, Jules Kounde and Ferran Torres are far from fully fit, having suffered injury setbacks this season.

The injury woes have impacted Barca’s performances on the pitch. They are currently second in La Liga and have suffered defeats against Sevilla and Real Madrid.

Pedri is an irreplaceable figure for Barca, having formed a strong partnership with Frenkie de Jong in the heart of the midfield.

Manager Hansi Flick will look to rely on Marc Casado, Marc Bernal, Fermin Lopez and Dro Fenanandez in the Spanish international’s absence.

Sunday’s defeat against Madrid ended Barca’s dominance in El Clasico, after winning all four meetings last season.

They will bid to bounce back against Elche this weekend.